Cool Kohlrabi

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

Growing kohlrabi for fall harvest has another advantage: “A light frost will actually enhance the bulbs’ flavor, making them sweeter, the same way it does with other cabbage family crops,” Reiners says.

For a spring crop, beat the heat by starting your seeds indoors about six weeks before your last expected frost. You can sow kohlrabi seeds directly in the garden, but you’ll have a better chance of avoiding the heat by starting the seeds earlier, indoors.

At Harmony Valley Farm in Viroqua, Wis., Richard de Wilde and his crew get an extra-early start by sowing kohlrabi seeds in the greenhouse in early March, eight to 10 weeks before their last frost date. He transplants the seedlings into raised garden beds in mid-April.

“We keep them under a row cover until daytime temperatures reach about 75 degrees,” explains de Wilde. “Kohlrabi tolerates cold temperatures, but the row cover provides enough extra warmth to keep the plants growing strong and fast. It also shields them from flea beetles, the only threat we’ve seen at this time of year.”

De Wilde harvests early kohlrabi varieties, such as ‘Kolibri,’ several weeks before broccoli and most other spring vegetables are available. “Our customers really look forward to it.”

THREE (OR FOUR) SEASON HARVEST

In regions with the mildest winters, kohlrabi will prosper from fall through spring. Tucker Taylor, manager of Woodland Gardens in Winterville, Ga., grows a number of crops year-round for Atlanta-area chefs and farmers markets, but kohlrabi is a cool-season standard.

“We like it because it’s so quick,” he says. “We rotate it through our hoop houses [plastic-covered tunnels] from fall through spring, and harvest the bulbs at different stages.” Taylor’s crew first starts the seeds in a greenhouse using Sunshine Mix, an organic seed-starting medium. “We add a little kelp to the mix to provide micronutrients,” he says. The seedlings are then transplanted into the hoop houses about a month later; full-size bulbs are harvested about six weeks after that.

Taylor also grows baby ‘Purple’ kohlrabi greens year-round in a greenhouse, which is heated only enough to keep the tender greens from freezing on extra-cold nights.

“The kohlrabi serves as the base of our microgreens mix, which also includes red mustard, broccoli, ‘Red Russian’ kale, red amaranth and arugula,” he explains. “It adds bright color to the mix and is very easy to grow.”

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print